Joystiqhttp://www.joystiq.com
Joystiqhttp://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gifJoystiqhttp://www.joystiq.com
en-usCopyright 2015 AOL, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/11/19/hey-npr-trivializing-esports-scholarships-denies-academic-oppo/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/11/19/hey-npr-trivializing-esports-scholarships-denies-academic-oppo/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/11/19/hey-npr-trivializing-esports-scholarships-denies-academic-oppo/#comments
On Monday, NPR's All Things Considered host Robert Siegel talked to New Tech City podcast host Manoush Zomorodi about Robert Morris University's new athletic scholarship program, the first of its kind in the United States - scholarships for League of Legends players. The hosts rattled off the stats: $500,000 for 30 scholarships, similar to some football scholarships the school offers. Zomorodi noted that 32 million people watched the final League of Legends championship game this year, more than watched the last game of the NBA finals.

After talking to Robert Morris University's Associate Athletic Director Kurt Melcher, this happened:

ZOMORODI: And from what I saw, Robert, it really was just like the football team or the track team - a tight-knit group.

SIEGEL: (Laughter) So what's it like to be a collegiate e-athlete?

Laughter. That's pulled directly from NPR's transcript of the broadcast, and you can listen to it here (this conversation at 3:08). During the final minutes of Siegel and Zomorodi's talk, there were titters and chuckles at factual information about the League of Legends scholarship.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>collegeesportskpccLCSleague-championship-seriesleague-of-legendsleague-of-legends-championshipsmediaNPRscholarshipscholarshipsWed, 19 Nov 2014 09:11:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/10/20/what-happened-to-all-of-the-women-coders-in-1984/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/10/20/what-happened-to-all-of-the-women-coders-in-1984/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/10/20/what-happened-to-all-of-the-women-coders-in-1984/#comments
In 1984, women stopped pursuing Computer Science majors at American universities. From 1970 onward, women had composed an increasing percentage of Computer Science majors, but something happened in 1984 and that number began to drastically fall, an occurrence at odds with other tech fields. This trend has continued into the 2000s, and today women make up roughly 20 percent of Computer Science majors, as opposed to the 1984 high of about 37 percent.

NPR's Planet Money team of Caitlin Kenney and Steve Henn dove into the data to uncover what went down in the mid-80s to drive women out of the field.

"There was no grand conspiracy in computer science that we uncovered," Henn said. "No big decision by computer science programs to put a quota on women. There was no sign on a door that said, 'Girls, keep out.' But something strange was going on in this field."

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>1980s198480scomputer-sciencegenderNPRuniversitywomenMon, 20 Oct 2014 18:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/23/kinect-support-coming-to-xna-in-the-future/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/23/kinect-support-coming-to-xna-in-the-future/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/23/kinect-support-coming-to-xna-in-the-future/#comments
Good news: Microsoft has plans to offer Kinect development tools to XNA developers. Confirmation comes via Xbox director of incubation Alex Kipman, who said during an interview on Talk of the Nation that, while there's no current Kinect functionality in XNA, it's something Microsoft "will support in the future." Honestly, we're thrilled -- haven't you seen someoftheawesomestuff people are coming up with ... without the proper toolset?

The Talk of the Nation episode on which Kipman appeared focused on Xbox 360's new camera peripheral, which Microsoft is pleased to see developers tinkering around with ... to a degree. Hacking the device, which Microsoft classifies as someone accessing "algorithms on the side of the Xbox" for ill-use, or someone exploiting Kinect in a cheating manner is not tolerated. Creating a driver that might "open the USB connection" or one that "reads the inputs from the sensor," on the other hand, are uses that are totally cool by Microsoft.

Microsoft offered no timetable for when Kinect support would come to XNA, so in the meantime, keep those "good" hacks coming!

Adam Sessler, host of G4's X-Play, went mano a mano with video gaming super-villain John Bruce (Jack, to you) Thompson on today's Talk of the Nation to talk about all the great ways video game companies are being responsi ... oh, who are we kidding? They were chatting about violence in video games (again) - this time with a focus on Grand Theft Auto IV.

Thompson comes across as paranoid crusader (go figure!), sticking with his usual mantra that the game is "mentally molesting minors for money" before being rather promptly booted off the air ("I'm done?"). Though Sessler and Thompson never really go at each other (don't you see enough bloodshed in your "video games"?) it's as even-handed a treatment of the controversy as you're likely to see in the mainstream press.

Did you know that video games have stories? Oh, you did? Well, apparently NPR's Chana Joffe-Walt didn't, which only partly explains her condescending -- borderline inflammatory -- piece on Bungie's Joseph Staten, who wrote the latest Halo novel, Contact Harvest. Throughout the piece, Joffe-Walt takes unfair jabs at video game fans, questioning their literacy ("Do gamers read?") as well as their general sophistication.

Near the beginning of the interview, Joffe-Walt asks Staten, quite sincerely: "Isn't gaming all just, like, shoot-em-up? Why do you need story?" Clearly, she might not have been the best choice to do a piece on video games. In the future, NPR, please leave the video game stories to Heather Chaplin, whose recent piece "Video Games that Got Away" offered a positive and mainstream-oriented look at games, as opposed to a negative, narrow-minded one.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bungiedesktop-tower-defensehalohalo-3halo3heather-chaplinnprportalXbox-360Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/27/npr-covers-2007s-games-that-got-away/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/27/npr-covers-2007s-games-that-got-away/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/27/npr-covers-2007s-games-that-got-away/#commentsFiled under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360NPR's All Things Considered has been spending a moment each day this week reflecting on "the ones that got away." Whether it be books, which they covered on Monday, or television shows, which they covered on Wednesday, or video games, which they covered on Christmas day (a present from them to us? We think so).

Journalist Heather Chaplin, author of Smartbomb and friend of the 'stiq, discussed three games which may not be getting the attention they deserve as the year wraps up. While BioShockisbusymoppingup nearly every single game of the year honor out there, we're glad to hear a mainstream outlet like NPR take the time to honor ought-seven's unsung heroes of gaming.

When area/code's Frank Lantz refers to the "rococo" aesthetic of modern games relative to Portal's minimalism, you can practically smell the title bout between the aforementioned BioShock and Valve's infectious puzzler, which Lantz calls one of his favorite games of all time. But Portal wasn't the only onetime indie game on their list to make it to the big leagues: they also covered Everyday Shooter, the IGF finalist turned PlayStation Network title, and Desktop Tower Defense, the addictive web game that recently won its own game of the year honor. It's a great listen, even if they're preaching to our choir.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ActionDesktop-Tower-DefenseEveryday-ShooterHeather-ChaplinNPRPCPortalPS3PSNQueasy-GamesSCEShooterSony-Computer-EntertainmentXbox-360Thu, 27 Dec 2007 06:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/06/npr-goes-to-video-games-live/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/06/npr-goes-to-video-games-live/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/06/npr-goes-to-video-games-live/#commentsFiled under: CultureWe're glad to see Video Games Live getting some attention from National Public Radio, and it's nice to hear some of VGL on their broadcast. But we have to admit to being a little bit perturbed by the tone of the reporter, who appears to be mystified by the idea that anyone would be in the seats. "Why is video game music so compelling to these people?" he wonders aloud, the disdain deliciously audible.

We would kindly remind NPR that the only way that orchestras in many areas can fill seats is by promising to play the hits of Andrew Lloyd Webber or selections from Rocky, Chariots of Fire and Star Wars. The chamber halls ceased long ago to be the domain solely of Mozart and Beethoven. We understand that video game concerts are novel, but is the reasoning behind them really so puzzling?

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>nprtommytallaricovideogamesliveMon, 06 Aug 2007 11:56:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/28/npr-hails-kutaragi-and-smacks-ps3/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/28/npr-hails-kutaragi-and-smacks-ps3/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/28/npr-hails-kutaragi-and-smacks-ps3/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3National Public Radio on Friday's episode of All Thing Considered did a piece on the "retirement" of Ken Kutaragi. In less than thirty-seconds into the piece focus shifts from Kutaragi leaving to the PlayStation 3's less than stellar sales.

NPR beats the same drum as every other media outlet at this point. Finding a group of gamers in a GameCrazy store, it turns out that none of them own a PS3. When NPR asks the men why the PS3 isn't selling well, one responds, "Its just the price, the only thing that kills it is the price. Six-hundred, seven-hundred dollars out the door, that's a lot of money. If it was the price of the Xbox -- I'd get one."

Another gamer says that all the good titles aren't exclusive to Sony and that all the games he likes for PlayStation are all on the PS2. NPR tempers it all by saying we're only six months into a cycle that'll last many years.

First Newsweek's Stephen Levy alleges that Guitar Hero is "dumbing down musicianship," and now this. NPR commentator Kelly McBride recently aired her fears that Wii Sports is artificially inflating the self-esteem of her Wii-playing children.

According to McBride's logic, children used to effortless success with minimum effort in Wii Sports tennis will be frustrated when they pick up a real tennis racket and aren't immediately experts. She has a point -- mastering a video game simulation is often much easier than mastering the real world activity it mimics. Just ask a fighter pilot or a world leader.

But while the barriers to success are lower for many video games, the rewards for success are also lower. While schooling someone in virtual basketball might let you hear your opponent's moan of defeat over a headset, the real look of anguish when you take someone down in a hard-fought game of real basketball is infinitely more satisfying.

There's something about the physical exertion and human interaction of real sports that makes it compelling in a way that's totally different from sitting alone playing a video game. Even jumping around and playing Wii Sports with friends isn't quite as interesting as taking them on in a real sport (though it's often more practical). This is why paintball hasn't gone away even though Halo is popular and people continue to ski even when Alpine Racer might be available at a nearby arcade.

Sure, children will often be more interested in the instant gratification of a simple game than the complex rewards of real competition, but as they get older most mature adults will come to realize the importance of sticking with something and attaining new skills in the real world.

Video games aren't a replacement for real world activities. They never have been and they won't start to be now just because Nintendo lets you move your arms a bit while you play them.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alarmistbasketballcompetitionNPRpaintballreal worldRealWorldtennisWiiwii sportsWiiSportsWed, 14 Feb 2007 12:35:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/08/npr-chats-up-older-gamers/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/08/npr-chats-up-older-gamers/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/08/npr-chats-up-older-gamers/#commentsFiled under: Culture, PCNPR's Alex Cohen spoke to some older gamers recently on Day to Day and she found out, courtesy of Nintendo's George Harrison, that seniors play games differently than the 18 to 34 year-old demographic. Well, duh. They cut his sound bite short however, because he starts going into his standard boilerplate speech about how games have gotten so complex with multiple joysticks and buttons, but they want to change all that with the Wii, etc etc. Cohen goes on to find out how arthritis keeps a 70 year old woman from playing Guitar Hero, but she manages to kick butt with her grandson in Final Fantasy XII. She has 13(!) grandkids and goes on to say that she thinks playing games keeps the mind active. Gamer grandma kicking your ass, FTW!

Here are some interesting facts from the piece:

25% of all gamers are over the age of 50

A third of all Baby Boomers polled want a next-gen system for Christmas

That hot buxom blonde you play with in Guild Wars might be older than your mom

You can listen to the show here. Of course, if you're over the age of 50 and reading our site, you probably heard this show on NPR already, right after catching Matlock. We keed! We keed! Everyone knows that Murder, She Wrote is far superior.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Alex CohengeezersgrandmaGuild WarsGuitar HeroMatlockNPRoldOlder GamersPCradioWoWFri, 08 Dec 2006 10:55:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/27/npr-takes-on-this-spartan-life/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/27/npr-takes-on-this-spartan-life/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/27/npr-takes-on-this-spartan-life/#commentsIt seems like every other day there is a news story about how those newfangled games are becoming, like, culture or something. Elitists that we are, we stare at the screen and snicker as Al Roker waves his arms around, trying to understand the madness before him. We laugh heartily as an unknowing reporter asks the lone girl why she is waiting in line for the latest "game" (AKA the PS3) with all those boys. Sure, it's funny, but we have to give credit where credit is due. NPR has been fairly consistent in its coverage of videogames as an actual (God forbid) cultural medium. NPR has explored e-commerce in MMORPGs, reviewedKatamari Damacy, and even started a gaming podcast, Press Start. Luckily, someone at NPR seems to like all the videogame coverage, as more stories keep popping up.

On the latest episode of Studio 360, host Kurt Anderson interviews Damian Lacedaemian (Chris Burke) of This Spartan Life. For those unfamiliar with This Spartan Life, it's a talk show filmed exclusively inside Halo 2. The host invites guests to chat inside the game. The show, despite its frag-friendly locale, is actually quite serious. Some readers may remember This Spartan Life's video about net neutrality for example. In the latest Studio 360, Damian and Kurt discuss Halo's gaming space as well as the community that games (and Live) have created. Of course, there are still a few things that will make the average gamer snicker. Kurt's "newb" status is definitely apparent as he struggles to come to grips with the game and its mechanics. Still, the fact that he cares to even try speaks volumes. Frankly, we wish more people from the older generation would take the time to understand and appreciate games and the culture surrounding them. You can watch Kurt's interview session with Damian after the break.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>national public radioNationalPublicRadionprstudio 360Studio360this spartan lifeThisSpartanLifeMon, 27 Nov 2006 11:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/27/npr-visits-this-spartan-life/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/27/npr-visits-this-spartan-life/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/27/npr-visits-this-spartan-life/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Xbox 360, Fighting, First Person Shooters, Video, MachinimaI've you've never seen This Spartan Life before, it's a machinima talk show that takes place entirely in Halo 2. The show's host, Damian Lacedaemion (producer, writer and director Chris Burke), is a Spartan soldier who interviews guests and covers topics from politics to publishing and filmmaking all while inside the game, and usually on the Headlong map, their standing "set."

On this weekend's episode of Studio 360, host Kurt Andersen suited up and interviewed Damian in the game for National Public Radio, and This Spartan Life has in turn published video of the segment on their site. What's pretty impressive to learn is that all of the hours of Halo 2 played online cumulatively add up to more then 10,000 years worth of Spartan living, all without any apparent evolution. We can only imagine the smell in Master Chief's armor by now.

Listen to Studio 360's show here, and check out the video after the jump. If only the regular news was covered like this, more people might tune in.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>BungieChris BurkeChrisBurkeDamian LacedaemionDamianLacedaemionHaloHalo 2Halo2Kurt AndersenmachinimaNPRradioStudio 360This Spartan LifeThisSpartanLifevideoXboxXbox-360Mon, 27 Nov 2006 08:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/28/npr-talks-games-for-change-conference/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/28/npr-talks-games-for-change-conference/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/28/npr-talks-games-for-change-conference/#commentsFiled under: CultureNPR's Marketplace introduced the segment saying, "They're often accused of wasting your time or promoting violence but a conference in New York City this week wants games to be known for something more." The ongoing Games For Change conference is part of the larger Serious Games initiative, but is focused specifically on using games to encourage social change.

NPR profiled three of the games on display at the conference, including:

Peace Maker - "a one-player game in which the player can choose to take the role of either the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President. The player must react to in-game events, from diplomatic negotiations to military attacks, and interact with eight other political leaders and social groups in order to establish a stable resolution to the conflict before his or her term in office ends."

A Force More Powerful- "simulates nonviolent struggles to win freedom and secure human rights against dictators, occupiers, colonizers, and corrupt regimes, as well as campaigns for political and human rights for minorities and women. The game models real-world experience, allowing players to devise strategies, apply tactics and see the results."

Darfur is Dying - MTV's "narrative-based simulation where the user, from the perspective of a displaced Darfurian, negotiates forces that threaten the survival of his or her refugee camp. It offers a faint glimpse of what it's like for the more than 2.5 million who have been internally displaced by the crisis in Sudan.

A far cry from the hysteria-prone coverage the mainstream media typically adheres to and great exposure for a group of gamers working to not only foster social change, but to evolve the educational potential for video games. Follow coverage of the conference by monitoring the 06-G4C del.icio.us tag.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Games for ChangeGamesForChangeNPRRadioSeriousSerious GamesSeriousGamesWed, 28 Jun 2006 13:25:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/12/npr-starts-a-gaming-podcast/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/12/npr-starts-a-gaming-podcast/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/12/npr-starts-a-gaming-podcast/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Online, BusinessNational Public Radio in the U.S. has started a fortnightly podcast on the topic of video game culture called Press Start. Kyle Orland, the guy that runs VGMWatch, is one of the hosts of the show along with Ralph Cooper, an ex-NPR staffer and current stand-up comedian, and Robert Holt, NPR's server guy who also reviews games for All Things Considered. Their first show, which runs for a short but sweet 15 minutes, covers that time old topic "video games as art". Some choice quotes:Kyle - "You really need to know what art is before you can determine whether video games are art".

Ralph - "I feel like a lot of video games, at least right now, they're not really trying to make statements".

Rob - "When I was in Grand Theft Auto... I was driving through the city and listening to the radio and I drove over a hill and I saw... this huge moon rise over the horizon, I was just in it at that point. I just knew that this was not your normal game. Of course, I could have just been beating up hookers..."

If you're up for some interesting and to-the-point video game culture commentary but want to skip on the usual "I like to hear the sound of my own voice" crap from the host(s), then make sure to add Press Start to your player of choice (iTunes link,My Yahoo! link,generic podcast RSS feed).

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>All things consideredAllThingsConsideredArtGaming ArtGamingArtNational Public RadioNationalPublicRadioNPRPodcastPodcastingRadioRalph CooperRalphCooperRob HoltRobHoltServersSnarkVGMVGMWatch.comVideo Game Media WatchVideo gamesVideo games as artVideoGameMediaWatchVideoGamesVideoGamesAsArtMon, 12 Jun 2006 11:55:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/16/sony-exec-insists-ps3-date-unknown/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/16/sony-exec-insists-ps3-date-unknown/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/16/sony-exec-insists-ps3-date-unknown/#commentsFiled under: Sony PlayStation 3 Ostensibly in response to yesterday's
report that the PlayStation 3 would launch in both Japan and the US in September, Tetsuhiko Yasuda, managing
director of Sony Computer Entertainment Asia, said, "We want to be completely prepared when we
bring PlayStation 3 to the marketplace," continuing, "Our primary competition is not other companies
but counterfeiters. We want to work with governments to stop this." Riiiight. We know counterfeiting is a serious
problem, but we're pretty sure somebody at Sony has noticed the 360 breathing down their neck. We think.

A
reader tipped us off that the official PlayStation
site, which lists the system's specs, still maintains the console will launch "in Spring 2006." Throw us
a bone here Sony!